The TOLM Group, Inc. has completed renovations to the historic Coca Cola bottling plant at 210 N. Moose Street in Downtown Morrilton and an estimated 200 people attended the grand opening of the TOLM Group’s newly renovated corporate headquarters on Friday, September 27. The company celebrated with employees, the community, clients, and vendors at a ribbon cutting and business after hours event co-hosted by the Morrilton Area Chamber of Commerce. On Monday, November 4, the site was recognized by the Morrilton Area Chamber of Commerce as their 2019 Business Site of the Year.
Festivities included comments from TOLM Group President Brian Rohlman, TOLM Group Owner Mike Miller, and Conway County Economic Development Corporation President Jerry Smith who closed the comments with a resounding “It’s a great day for Conway County” cheer. Morrilton Mayor Allen Lipsmeyer also commended the TOLM Group for their investment in Morrilton and their commitment to providing employment opportunities in the area by proclaiming it “TOLM Group Day”.
The building, originally constructed in 1929 as a Coca Cola bottling plant was also the site of the original Morrilton Walmart Store No. 8 in the 1960s and most recently served as Morrilton City Hall and the Morrilton Police Department. TOLM purchased the property in 2018 and has worked with the National Park Service Historic Preservation Department through the Historic Tax Credit Program to preserve the historic architecture while modernizing the facility for use as the home office for Tolm’s construction and engineering services. TOLM also received a USDA Rural Energy for America Program grant to install solar panels that are helping to offset the energy consumption of the more than 20,000 sqft facility.
TOLM President Brian Rohlman said, “This move is a significant one for our organization. We’ve grown rapidly over the past five years and with that came the obvious need for more physical space, but it has also afforded us this opportunity to invest in the future of our company and the community we call home by giving new life to this important historic monument.” Rohlman went on to talk about how the history of the building being the site for great innovation in the industries that it served over the years is a precursor for things to come from the TOLM Group (formerly know as TOLM Paving, Inc.). He added, “We are taking on new and challenging projects every day and we are marrying the engineering and design side with the construction execution piece internally. It’s really exciting and it’s bringing great value to our clients.”
The company currently employs around 90 people and about 20 of those work in the new facility downtown. The building has the office space to hold 30 plus and there is room for further expansion in the future. In addition to improving the landscape of downtown Morrilton and the creative revitalization of an existing vacant space, the location brings more foot traffic to the area for existing retail and restaurant businesses.
TOLM Paving, Inc. was purchased from the TOLM family of Morrilton in 2014 by Mike and Suzan Miller of Hattieville. The Millers hired Morrilton native Brian Rohlman as president and tasked him with growing the company into a diversified commercial construction firm. Under Brian’s leadership the company has more than quadrupled in size and has received multiple awards from industry organizations for excellence in safety and construction. The range of services has grown to include construction and engineering services across multiple divisions including commercial, industrial, heavy civil, and water-wastewater for clients across the United States.